Dave & Doug’s Family Photo Shoot in Big Cottonwood Canyon

We have a wonderful family photo shoot today. We photographed Dave & Doug’s little family in Big Cottonwood Canyon this summer. I had the opportunity to photograph their engagements and wedding several years ago.

I love photographing in Big Cottonwood Canyon. There are several spots that are great for photography and they can be pretty popular by hikers, photographers, and others. With canyons, waterfalls, cliffs, valleys, trees, and more there is a lot to use for backgrounds.

And we had some formal portraits, individual shots, and create posing for these photos. We try to keep the kid’s attention as we “create” candid moments. Sometimes we need a little patience but the results are awesome.

Black & White

I love color. I rarely find myself shooting for black and white or creating black and white photos. However, I am going to try and break that mold and create more black and white photos. In fact, I created a black and white photograph of each photograph delivered to this family. It doubles the photos, and hopefully doubles the fun.

And I am including examples of “tall” photos known as portrait and I am also shooting “wide” photos that are called landscape photos. It’s great to have both tall and wide photos so the client has options when they print photos or put them in an album. And landscape photos are usually easier to crop to square. But that is a bit inside baseball.

I am growing to be a fan of shade! I thought it was a easy way to take easy photos, but the light combined with my flash can help create amazing photos for anyone.

And this is how you fix “tall” parents with kids. Wear something you can sit down comfortably with and we can create this posed shot.

Mountains are a great reason to live in Utah. Unless there is the inversion during the winter. Then mountains aren’t so great. But for photos, they’re awesome!

Family photography can be about those cuddly moments. Get close and get comfortable with a hug for the camera. And show those pearly white teeth! Or I can make the pearly white, if you want them.

And we finish with some candids of piggyback rides.